When I lived on the humid central TX gulf coast it was hard to grow thyme. It handled the mild winters fine, but once the weather warmed it would rot. Yes, many varieties like heat & sun, but they like it dry. Finally carried lemon thyme over by planting it in a large unglazed clay pot, in a very sandy mix with oyster shell blended in & oyster shell mulched on top. Pretty much the same for lavenders. Since moving to central TX, I can grow any thyme--have huge masses of the lemon, silver, mother of thyme, German, French, English, etc.. Elfin, citrus, wooly, Doone Valley, Pink Chiffon are growing well--every thyme I pick up seems to thrive on the alkaline calcareous soils here (I'm being generous--we have little actual soil, lots of exposed caliche). Our normal rainfall is supposed to run ~29" but it's been much less than that for the last 5 years. Water is also alkaline here, coming from limestone aquifers--also has lots of calcium. I buy 4" pots from the local nurseries, but have had thymes from big box stores do well, too. Lavenders thrive also. 4" pots of augustifolias reach 3' height & spread in a year or so. In this drier environment I can mulch thymes with chopped leaves, etc, but in the rainier climate of the coast organic mulches seemed to make them rot faster. So, besides using a very well draining mix, try some fine oyster shell, like chick grit from the feed store (not the granite grit). I think if you can find a perfectly draining mix, plus add a bit of alkalinity to it maybe it will tolerate your high rainfall & humidity. Good luck.

Here you go! I have been using this basting butter for 13 years now and while I may be tempted to try another one, I just can't bring myself to do so. The recipe came from Bon Appetit, November of 1996. The instructions were part of a whole roast turkey menu they did and call for lossening (separating) the skin from the breast and legs and placing a good portion of this in there and then massaging more into the cavity and outside with it also. If any is leftover, use it to further baste the bird. It make a great base for the gravy. Citrus Thyme Butter  1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cut into pieces, room temperature  1/4 cup fresh orange juice  1/4 cup fresh lemon juice  2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme or 1 tablespoon dried  1 tablespoon grated orange peel  1 teaspoon grated lemon peel  3/4 teaspoon salt  3/4 teaspoon pepper Note: The orange and lemon juice do not like to blend into the butter, so I just increase the grated peel. You can also add sage and rosemary if you like. I hope you enjoy.

I almost forgot that I had started this thread! If you'll note the time posted you might surmise that I'd had a sip or two of wine by that time. I'm another who doesn't carry a purse. Quit about 7 yrs ago and can't stand the thought of ever carrying one again. Thus, I always have bulging pockets. Can you imagine the butter in my pocket? UGH YUCK!! Peppi, I'm glad you didn't return the remains of that butter to your purse. But if memory serves, there wasn't all that much left anyway! LOL On the topic of liking wine... I think it's a great idea to mix. Way back before I really acquired a taste for it, I'd mix wine with sprite or some such, and sometimes add a splash of fruit juice. Sort of a homemade wine cooler. **Cathy, the dead wine bottles picture has been posted in the Pigeon People thread.

After a very unique and wet winter in here NorCal, my little citrus trees are looking good (except for the marsh grapefruit, but he's making a comeback). You will see a companion plant all around my citrus (and all my roses too). It's called Lacy Phacelia and it's a CA native annual that is amazing for pollinators. I sprouted them from seed and they all took off! I know some people believe in not planting anything around citrus trees, but I experimented with this anyways this past season. I noticed something REALLY awesome about Lacy Phacelia... so before you knock it, let me tell you about it! ;) Eureka lemon... WA navel orange... Clementine mandarin... Mexican lime... Meyer lemons... You will see the Lacy Phacelia are barely starting to bloom. Lacy Phacelia (foliage, not just the blooms) seems to attract these little flies that are striped green and black and hover around to eat aphids and all sorts of other pests! With all the rain California has had this winter... the aphids are crazy. Some plants have the most aphids I have ever seen personally in my life! But all the plants near the Lacy Phacelia have almost NO aphids! And the Lacy Phacelia itself has absolutely none!! There are lots of those little flies nearby that are eating all the aphids. Sorry I don't know bugs that well so I'm not quite sure what they are, but I think they are hover flies ... and I know they are hungry! Very interesting! It's quite a noticeable difference. If that's the case, this is definitely going to be an annual addition to my yard! I tried Lacy Phacelia initially to help with pollination, but this is an amazing and unexpected happy surprise! They are also an annual, germinate really easy (in my yard), pull up really easy, and supposedly 4% nitrogen, so if you compost, they are a good nitrogen fertilizer source. :)